Name ___________________________________Date ___________ Per. ___
Scientific Method Bubble Gum Lab
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE1re4uNpN0
You have been hired by “Goldbubble Gum Company.” They want you to run some
tests to find out which type of gum will blow better bubbles: regular gum or sugar
free gum. You will report your findings to the company president, Mr. Goldstein,
once you have completed your testing.
You have decided to run your test on 6th graders using Dubble Bubble gum and
Extra sugar free bubble gum.
Part I. The Question: Use the steps of the scientific method to figure out which
type of bubble gum, sugar free or regular, is better for blowing bigger bubbles?
Part II. Outcomes and Hypothesis
Outcomes: What are the 3 possible outcomes for your experiment?
1.____________________________________________________________
2._____________________________________________________________
3._____________________________________________________________
Hypothesis:
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
p.1
Part III. Variables. Write out your variables. Use the word SAME for all of
your CV’s.
IV: _______________________________________________________
DV: _______________________________________________________
CV: _______________________________________________________
CV: _______________________________________________________
CV: _______________________________________________________
Part IV. Materials & Procedure :
Material: List the materials we need for the lab.
____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________.
Procedure:
1. Gather materials.
2. Fill out Qualitative Observations in chart on next page.
3. Chew Sugar Free Gum first; blow a bubble.
4. Your partner will measure the bubble size by measuring distance from mouth to
end of bubble in cm.
5. Record data on table.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 for a total of 5 bubbles.
7. Chew Dubble Bubble Regular gum; blow a bubble.
8. Repeat steps 4-5 above. (blow 5 bubbles, measure, record)
p.2
Part V. Observations and Data Collection:
Qualitative Observations. Make some observations before you chew the gum
and while you are chewing the gum.
Ex. Can you smell the difference between the two types of gum? Describe the color of the gum, the
shape of the gum etc. Be specific with your observations.
Use the 5 senses to describe the gum. Fill out the chart below.
Sugar free gum
Dubble Bubble (sugar gum)
Quantitative Observations: Complete your data table with 5 measurements to
nearest cm.
Sugar free gum
(Measure to nearest cm)
Average bubble size:
Dubble Bubble (sugar gum)
(Measure to nearest cm)
Average bubble size:
p.3
Part VI: Data Analysis
1. Make a bar graph from the data you collected.
2. Look over your data. Are there any outliers? __________
3. What could have caused an outlier for this experiment (even if you did not have
any)?
___________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Part VII Conclusions:
1. What type of gum did you predict would blow the bigger bubbles?
__________________________
1. Was your hypothesis correct? __________
2. What type of gum is the best at blowing bubbles and why? Support your
answer using observations and your data. Use complete sentences.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
3.Come up with a good, thoughtful “what if” question.
What if _____________________________________________________?
Explain why your results for this experiment are valid.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Were your results for this lab are reliable. _________ Explain
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
p.4
EXTENSION: Ask your parents
1. Based on your definition for “better” ask you parents to predict which type of
gum they think would be better to blow a bubble.
Which gum did they predict? ___________________
Were they correct (based on your data? ___________________
2. What was their favorite gum to chew when they were a kid?
__________________
3. Why was that gum their favorite? ____________________________
_______________________________________________________.
SCIENTIFIC METHOD & THINKING PRACTICE: THE GREAT BUBBLE GUM
MYSTERY
Background: History of Chewing gum:
1.http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bladams.htm
2. http://www.gumball.com/history-of-dubble-bubble.aspx
3. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-bubble-gum-is-made.html
4.. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-chewing-gum-andbubble-gum.htm
5.. http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/largest-bubblegum-bubble-blown/
Answer the following:
What are some scientific facts you have learned from the links above: (List at
least three)
1.__________________________________________________________
2.__________________________________________________________
3.__________________________________________________________
What are some observations you made while reading: (List at least three)
1.__________________________________________________________
2.__________________________________________________________
3.__________________________________________________________
p.5
Ingredients Of Dubble Bubble Gum
Sugar, Dextrose, corn syrup, gun base, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors,
artificial color (FD&C red 3) corn starch, BHT
Ingredients Of Extra Classic Bubble Gum (sugar free)
Sorbitol , Gum Base , Glycerol , Mannitol , Flavors Natural & Artificial , Contains
less than 22% of , Starch Hydrolysate Hydrogenated , Soy Lecithin , Aspartame ,
Acesulfame K , Colors , Red 40 Lake , Yellow 6 , Sucralose , BHT